1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention may relate to organizing data on digital media, and/or to digital media products thus organized.
2. Description of Related Art
DVD and other digital media may be provided according to standards published by various organizations, such as the DVD Forum/the DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation. For example, currently standards for DVD content are published in books published by the DVD Forum, noted above. These standards permit digital content to be organized on DVD disks and equivalent digital media so as to provide access to principal content on the disk via menus, such as a “title menu.” Most DVD disks are configured such that, after the disk is inserted into a media player, a title menu appears, often after some introductory messages are displayed, such as production credits, copyright notices, and/or advertising.
The title menu generally provides links to the principal disk content. For example, the menu may provide a link to play the main feature, a link for episode or chapter selection, and/or one or more links to bonus or auxiliary features. Title menus may be organized to be graphically appealing to the user and to provide convenient access to the content advertised on the DVD package.
Some DVD content may be configured to contain so-called “easter eggs,” which are disguised links to certain content that is not accessible via the title menu. A purpose of the easter eggs is to provoke or maintain user interest in the DVD product by providing hidden treats. The easter eggs may be disguised as visual elements in one or more menus or other digital content. When an easter egg is “discovered” or activated via interaction with a cursor or other control element, a, typically short, segment of digital audio-visual content may be played. Thus, the user is motivated to discover the easter eggs to view additional content that is not otherwise accessible. However, the additional content may generally be related and auxiliary to principal digital content available via the title menu. Also, the presence of the easter eggs if often advertised so as to induce potential purchasers to buy the DVD product.
Current methods of formatting DVD products do not contemplate providing principal content in a hidden form. Providing such hidden content may be desirable, for example, for distributing confidential, secret, and/or age-restricted information, such that the presence of the hidden content is not apparent if the DVD disk is used by someone not authorized to view the hidden content.